Photo credit: Jongsun Lee, Unsplash
Last week, we were lucky enough to witness a once-in-a-lifetime (or twice-in-a-lifetime) event, a partial solar eclipse in Germany.
The public observatory in Cologne opened its doors to visitors and offered live observations of the major partial solar eclipse (80%) through telescopes equipped with protective filters.
The SFB 1601, a Collaborative Research Center based at the University of Cologne, invited guests to take a virtual tour of the CCAT observatory with VR glasses to see the current status of construction. Children and adults could also build their own spectrometers to observe the sun’s absorption lines.
Dynaverse had an information booth and also offered a “Build Your Own (Space) Telescope” activity, during which visitors could assemble the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) or the CCAT from 3D-printed parts.
Left and middle: 3D-printes parts to build your own telescope. Right: Info station with Dynaverse outreach movie and CCAT lego model
Thanks to the organization of the SFB 1601, visitors were able to observe the sun through a telescope on the observatory’s roof and with a camera obscura. Right: In addition, a live stream of the solar eclipse was broadcast from other European cities, such as Stockholm and Madrid.
More information:
Homepage of the Public Observatory in Cologne
Additonal news coverage: University of Cologne, Kölner Rundschau, WDR
Photo Credit: Jana Kabus, University of Cologne
